Washington recently legalized the use of cannabis for all users. For most, this is a good thing. But as usual, there has to be someone who doesn't agree with cannabis and is trying to block it out. In Washington, the Liquor Control Board is trying to prevent the merge of booze and pot by preventing stoners from toking at bars and nightclubs. Although the two don't always mix well, the amount of profit that bars could make from allowing cannabis use on the premise would be amazing.

The board filed a draft of a rule that would ban any business with a liquor license from allowing marijuana use on the site. The main concern with mixing the two substances is a valid one; the amount of accidents of patrons leaving may increase. Alcohol and marijuana do not mix well for everyone so someone who's been drinking and smoking all night should not be behind the wheel. No one who's been drinking at all should be behind the wheel, while we're at it.

Currently, the legalization law states that people cannot smoke in public places, including bars, restaurants, and clubs. Some business owners have been trying to get around that law, by allowing "private clubs" inside the business. Frankie's Schnarr, owner of Frankie's Sports Bar And Grill in Olympia, says that not allowing marijuana in his bar will hurt his business. Not only will people stay home to smoke and drink, but they'll just be smoking outside the doors, where others are puffing on cigarettes. At least if the stoners are allowed inside, the amount of marijuana that they consume can be monitored by the bartenders and the bouncers, who's job includes recognizing how intoxicated people are.

If the bars were allowed to serve cannabis as well as alcohol, it would be easier for the employees to see who was ingesting what. People drink far too much alcohol all the time. With people who don't like to drink but would like to be involved in a social setting, allowing cannabis would get people like this out of the house, where they feel like they're stuck since there's no real place for cannabis users to get together and hang out. If you don't want people drinking and smoking, good luck. The two will continue to be used together, no matter what measures are put in place to stop it.

Thursday, December 5 marks the eightieth anniversary of the ratification of the 21st Amendment, which ended the prohibition of alcohol in 1933. The amendment repealed the 18th Amendment, passed in 1920, after more than a decade of increased crime, dangerously unregulated products, and a failure to reduce consumption convinced the American public prohibition was an ineffective and destructive way to attack the problems associated with substance use. Alas, it was a lesson quickly forgotten. Decades later America repeated the mistake with the prohibition of drugs, heir to all of the same problems as alcohol prohibition and then some.

As former prosecutor and Law Enforcement Against Prohibition board member James Gierach says, “Al Capone and other gangsters thrived when government outlawed what people wanted. When booze went legit with the 21st Amendment, mobsters had to wait only 40 years before government did it again with drugs. Same problem, same solution: legalize, license, regulate and tax.”

Two comparisons with the current war on drugs are particularly worthy of note.

First, the prohibition of alcohol was actually closer to what reformists today call “decriminalization” – the removal of criminal penalties for use and possession while sales, distribution and manufacture remain prosecutable offenses.

“The 1920s nicely illustrate why legalization and regulation, not decriminalization alone, are the solutions to the problems engendered by the war on drugs,” said LEAP executive director Major Neill Franklin (Ret.), a police officer for 34 years. “As long as illegal markets guarantee high profits, no amount of law enforcement will be able to loosen the stranglehold organized crime has over the drug trade.”

Second, the end of the prohibition of alcohol came not through the federal government, but through the states, the path that seems most likely for the end of the prohibition of marijuana and, eventually, of all drugs. Already, Colorado and Washington have legalized and regulated marijuana, and the momentum is building in states across the country to follow suit in order to reduce violence, increase oversight and realign the priorities of law enforcement officials who have too long been focused on an unwinnable, destructive war on drugs.

“When we finally came to our senses and repealed the prohibition of alcohol 80 years ago, homicides went down appreciably nationwide. We will realize the same phenomenon when we finally repeal drug prohibition.” – Judge James P. Gray (Ret.)

Not everyone enjoys the taste of cannabis in their medicated food. Removing that taste is a fairly easy process and can even leave you with some tasty concentrated THC as well, although you may want to use more bud in your edibles if you choose to use this method to get rid of the weed taste from the food. The taste of the weed comes from the chlorophyll. By following these steps, you can eliminate that taste completely, leaving your food tasting completely normal.

Boil some water and put it in to a bowl. Drop your bud/trim in to the water and soak them for about half an hour. The buds should be free floating in the water. You should drop the marijuana in to the water whole, rather than grinding them up. Since adding heat bursts the resin glands, this part is pretty important. Once the water has turn the dark green, SLOWLY pour the water out, being very careful not to bump the bowl on any surface. You should see a light brown residue at the bottom of the bowl. This substance is the resin glands that have fallen off of the buds. These can also be removed and dried, creating a highly potent concentrate. Another suggestion is to screen the cannabis buds before doing this and add in the collected kief to the recipe as well. This will help make your recipe come out much stronger.

Most people can tolerate the taste of cannabis in their edibles but some find it hard to choke down. If you do find that the taste bothers you, try this method out and hopefully, it will allow you to enjoy the potency of cannabis edible without the not so awesome taste! It will also benefit you with that extra concentrate too, providing that you don't end up adding it in to the recipe (it's recommended that you do). Cannabis edibles are a great way to medicate!